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             THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA


    We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.

Article I

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
   Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
   House of Representatives.

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members
   chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the
   electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for
   electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.
       No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained
   to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of
   the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant
   of that state in which he shall be chosen.
       Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the
   several states which may be included within this union, according to
   their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the
   whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a
   term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
   other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three
   years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States,
   and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they
   shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed
   one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one
   Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state
   of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts
   eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five,
   New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one,
   Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five,
   and Georgia three.
       When vacancies happen in the Representation from any state, the
   executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill
   such vacancies.
       The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other
   officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
   Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six
   years; and each Senator shall have one vote.
       Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the
   first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three
   classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be
   vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at
   the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class at the
   expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every
   second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise,
   during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive
   thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the
   legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
       No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the
   age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United
   States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that
   state for which he shall be chosen.
       The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
   Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.
       The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a
   President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when
   he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.
       The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments.
   When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation.
   When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice
   shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without the
   concurrence of two thirds of the members present.
       Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to
   removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any
   office of honor, trust or profit under the United States: but the
   party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to
   indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.

Section 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for
   Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by
   the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make
   or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing
   Senators.
       The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
   meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall
   by law appoint a different day.

Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and
   qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall
   constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn
   from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of
   absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each
   House may provide.
       Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
   members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two
   thirds, expel a member.
       Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time
   to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their
   judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of
   either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of
   those present, be entered on the journal.
       Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
   consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any
   other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation
   for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the
   treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except
   treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest
   during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses,
   and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or
   debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other
   place.
       No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he
   was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of
   the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments
   whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person
   holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of
   either House during his continuance in office.

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
   Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments
   as on other Bills.
       Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives
   and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the
   President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but
   if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in
   which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at
   large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
   reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the
   bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other
   House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by
   two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such
   cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays,
   and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be
   entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall
   not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted)
   after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law,
   in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their
   adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.
       Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the
   Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
   question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the
   United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be
   approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by
   two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to
   the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes,
   duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the
   common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all
   duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United
   States;
      To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
      To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
         states, and with the Indian tribes;
      To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on
         the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;
      To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin,
         and fix the standard of weights and measures;
      To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities
         and current coin of the United States;
      To establish post offices and post roads;
      To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing
         for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right
         to their respective writings and discoveries;
      To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;
      To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high
         seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
      To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make
         rules concerning captures on land and water;
      To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that
         use shall be for a longer term than two years;
      To provide and maintain a navy;
      To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and
         naval forces;
      To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of
         the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
      To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia,
         and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the
         service of the United States, reserving to the states
         respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the
         authority of training the militia according to the discipline
         prescribed by Congress;
      To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over
         such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by
         cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress,
         become the seat of the government of the United States, and to
         exercise like authority over all places purchased by the
         consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall
         be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards,
         and other needful buildings;--And
      To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
         into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers
         vested by this Constitution in the government of the United
         States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the
   states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
   prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight
   hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such
   importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
       The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
   suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public
   safety may require it.
       No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
       No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in
   proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be
   taken.
       No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
       No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or
   revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall
   vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear or
   pay duties in another.
       No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of
   appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of
   receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from
   time to time.
       No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and
   no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall,
   without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present,
   emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king,
   prince, or foreign state.

Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or
   confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit
   bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in
   payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or
   law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of
   nobility.
       No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any
   imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be
   absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection laws: and the net
   produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or
   exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States;
   and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the
   Congress.
       No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of
   tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into
   any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power,
   or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger
   as will not admit of delay.


Article II

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the
   United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of
   four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the
   same term, be elected, as follows:
       Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature
   thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number
   of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in
   the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an
   office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed
   an elector.
       The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by
   ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an
   inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a
   list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for
   each; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
   the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
   President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
   presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
   certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having
   the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number
   be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there
   be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of
   votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by
   ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority,
   then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like
   manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes
   shall be taken by States, the representation from each state having
   one vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or
   members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the
   states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the
   choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of
   votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there
   should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall
   choose from them by ballot the Vice President.
       The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and
   the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the
   same throughout the United States.
       No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the
   United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution,
   shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any
   person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the
   age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within
   the United States.
        In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his
   death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties
   of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and
   the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death,
   resignation or inability, both of the President and Vice President,
   declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer
   shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a
   President shall be elected.
       The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a
   compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during
   the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not
   receive within that period any other emolument from the United
   States, or any of them.
       Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the
   following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that
   I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United
   States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and
   defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and
   Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states,
   when called into the actual service of the United States; he may
   require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of
   the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of
   their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves
   and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases
   of impeachment.
       He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
   Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present
   concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent
   of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and
   consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the
   United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided
   for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by
   law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think
   proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads
   of departments.
       The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
   happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which
   shall expire at the end of their next session.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
   of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such
   measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on
   extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and
   in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of
   adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think
   proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he
   shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall
   commission all the officers of the United States.

Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the
   United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and
   conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
   misdemeanors.


Article III

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in
   one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may
   from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the
   supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good
   behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a
   compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance
   in office.

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
   equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United
   States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their
   authority;--to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
   ministers and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime
   jurisdiction;--to controversies to which the United States shall be a
   party;--to controversies between two or more states;--between a state
   and citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states;
   --between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of
   different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and
   foreign states, citizens or subjects.
       In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and
   consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court
   shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before
   mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both
   as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations
   as the Congress shall make.
       The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be
   by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said
   crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any
   state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may
   by law have directed.

Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
   levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving
   them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless
   on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on
   confession in open court.
       The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of
   treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood,
   or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.


Article IV

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
   public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.
   And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which
   such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect
   thereof.

Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all
   privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.
       A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other
   crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state,
   shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he
   fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction
   of the crime.
        No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws
   thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or
   regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but
   shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or
   labor may be due.

Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union;
   but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction
   of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or
   more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the
   legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.
       The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful
   rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property
   belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution
   shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United
   States, or of any particular state.

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this
   union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
   against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the
   executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic
   violence.


Article V

    The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states,
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case,
shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the
several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one
or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first
and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that
no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage
in the Senate.


Article VI

    All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United
States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
    This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law
of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby,
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding.
    The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members
of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial
officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be
bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office
or public trust under the United States.


Article VII

    The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states
so ratifying the same.
    Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present
the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and eighty seven and of the independence of the United
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof We have hereunto
subscribed our Names,

      G. Washington-Presidt. and deputy from Virginia

      New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman

      Massachusetts: Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King

      Connecticut: Wm: Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman

      New York: Alexander Hamilton

      New Jersey: Wil: Livingston, David Brearly, Wm. Paterson,
      Jona: Dayton

      Pennsylvania: B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris,
      Geo. Clymer, Thos. FitzSimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson,
      Gouv Morris

      Delaware: Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford jun, John Dickinson,
      Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom

      Maryland: James McHenry, Dan of St Thos. Jenifer, Danl Carroll

      Virginia: John Blair--, James Madison Jr.

      North Carolina: Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs Spaight, Hu Williamson

      South Carolina: J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney,
      Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler

      Georgia: William Few, Abr Baldwin


BILL OF RIGHTS

Amendment I                                           (1791)
   Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
   or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
   speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
   assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II                                          (1791)
   A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free
   state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be
   infringed.

Amendment III                                         (1791)
   No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without
   the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
   prescribed by law.

Amendment IV                                          (1791)
   The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
   papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
   shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon
   probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly
   describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
   seized.

Amendment V                                           (1791)
   No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
   infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand
   jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
   militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor
   shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in
   jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
   to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
   property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
   taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI                                          (1791)
   In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
   speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and
   district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
   shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of
   the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
   witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
   witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his
   defense.

Amendment VII                                         (1791)
   In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
   twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
   fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of
   the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII                                        (1791)
   Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
   nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX                                          (1791)
   The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
   construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X                                           (1791)
   The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
   nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states
   respectively, or to the people.


OTHER AMMENDMENTS

Amendment XI                                          (1798)
   The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
   extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against
   one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens
   or subjects of any foreign state.

Amendment XII                                         (1804)
   The electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot
   for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be
   an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in
   their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct
   ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make
   distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all
   persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for
   each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
   the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
   President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the
   presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
   certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--the person having
   the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President,
   if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors
   appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons
   having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those
   voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
   immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President,
   the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each
   state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a
   member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of
   all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
   Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of
   choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
   following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the
   case of the death or other constitutional disability of the
   President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-
   President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority
   of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a
   majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate
   shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall
   consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority
   of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
   constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be
   eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

Amendment XIII                                       (1865)
 Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
   punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
   convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject
   to theirjurisdiction.
 Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
   appropriate legislation.

Amendment XIV                                         (1868)
 Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
   subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
   States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or
   enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
   citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person
   of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny
   to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
   laws.
 Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states
   according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of
   persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the
   right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for
   President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in
   Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the
   members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
   inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and
   citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
   participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
   representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the
   number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male
   citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
 Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
   or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil
   or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having
   previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer
   of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as
   an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the
   Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection
   or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies
   thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House,
   remove such disability.
 Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States,
   authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions
   and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion,
   shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state
   shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of
   insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
   the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts,
   obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
 Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
   legislation, the provisions of this article.

Amendment XV                                           (1870)
 Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
   be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account
   of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
 Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
   appropriate legislation.

Amendment XVI                                          (1913)
   The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,
   from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several
   states, and without regard to any census of enumeration.

Amendment XVII                                         (1913)
   The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators
   from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and
   each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall
   have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous
   branch of the state legislatures.
       When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the
   Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of
   election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of
   any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary
   appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the
   legislature may direct.
       This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the
   election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as
   part of the Constitution.

Amendment XVIII                                         (1919)
 Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
   manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within,
   the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the
   United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof
   for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
 Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent
   power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
 Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
   ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
   the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven
   years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the
   Congress.

Amendment XIX                                          (1920)
       The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
   denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of
   sex.
       Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
   legislation.

Amendment XX                                           (1933)
 Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end
   at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and
   Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in
   which such terms would have ended if this article had not been
   ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
 Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year,
   and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless
   they shall by law appoint a different day.
 Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
   President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President
   elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been
   chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the
   President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
   elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified;
   and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
   President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
   declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one
   who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act
   accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
 Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of
   any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose
   a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon
   them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom
   the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice
   shall have devolved upon them.
 Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of
   October following the ratification of this article.
 Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
   ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
   three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date
   of its submission.

Amendment XXI                                          (1933)
 Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
   the United States is hereby repealed.
 Section 2. The transportation or importation into any state, territory,
   or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of
   intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby
   prohibited.
 Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
   ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the
   several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
   from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

Amendment XXII                                         (1951)
 Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President
   more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President,
   or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which
   some other person was elected President shall be elected to the
   office of the President more than once. But this article shall not
   apply to any person holding the office of President when this article
   was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who
   may be holding the office of President, or acting as President,
   during the term within which this article becomes operative from
   holding the office of President or acting as President during the
   remainder of such term.
 Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
   ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of
   three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date
   of its submission to the states by the Congress.

Amendment XXIII                                        (1961)
 Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the
   United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may
   direct:
       A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the
   whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the
   District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more
   than the least populous state; they shall be in addition to those
   appointed by the states, but they shall be considered, for the
   purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be
   electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District
   and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of
   amendment.
 Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
   appropriate legislation.

Amendment XXIV                                          (1964)
 Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
   primary or other election for President or Vice President, for
   electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or
   Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the
   United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax
   or other tax.
 Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
   appropriate legislation.

Amendment XXV                                          (1967)
 Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of
   his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
 Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
   President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall
   take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of
   Congress.
 Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro
   tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
   his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and
   duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written
   declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be
   discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
 Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
   principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body
   as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore
   of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
   written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
   powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately
   assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
       Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro
   tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
   his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the
   powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a
   majority of either the principal officers of the executive department
   or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within
   four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker
   of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
   President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
   Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-
   eight hours for that purpose if not in session.
       If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the
   latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within
   twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by
   two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to
   discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President
   shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise,
   the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Amendment XXVI                                         (1971)
 Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years
   of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the
   United States or any state on account of age.
 Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
   appropriate legislation.

---------------------------

Prepared by Gerald Murphy (Cleveland Free-Net - aa300)
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